1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to transmissions, and more particularly to planetary gear sets for mechanical power transmissions such as in helicopters.
2. Description of Related Art
Aircraft like helicopters commonly include transmissions that transfer rotational energy from the one or more engines mounted on the aircraft airframe to rotor systems supported by the airframe. Since the one or more engines generally rotate with shaft speeds that are different from the shaft speed of the aircraft rotor system, the aircraft transmission commonly include gear arrangements that convert an input torque to output torques suitable for the aircraft rotor systems. For example, some transmission systems include planetary gear arrangements with a ring gear, a sun gear, and planetary gears intermeshed between the ring gear and the sun gear for transferring torque between input and output shafts coupled to the gear arrangement. The planetary gears communicate torque between the ring gear and the sun gear while the planetary gear set transmits rotational energy. In this respect, for a planetary gear arrangement having transferring a given load and having a certain number of planetary gears, the share of total torque carried by each planetary gear is ideally the total load divided by the number of planetary gears in the planetary gear arrangement.
Such conventional methods and systems for power transmission have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for improved planetary gear sets for power transmission systems. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.